Crude Oil Pares Weekly Decline on Optimism Over Virus Treatment - Bloomberg

Crude Oil Pares Weekly Decline on Optimism Over Virus Treatment - Bloomberg:

Oil rebounded as a new virus treatment showed promising results, but rising Covid-19 cases continued to weigh on the market.

Oil gained 2.4% in New York on Friday, but is still down for the week. The market followed stocks higher after Gilead Sciences Inc. said its remdesivir treatment cut Covid-19 mortality risk by 62%. Still, the coronavirus pandemic is far from easing around the world and the International Energy Agency said a jump in cases could derail the market recovery.

“If there’s one positive today concerning oil and the virus, it’s the news about remdesivir,” said Michael Hiley, head of over-the-counter energy trading at New York-based LPS Futures. “Still, you can’t help but try and dig into the new virus numbers that come out each day.”

Crude has struggled to extend a recent rally as traders weigh fresh outbreaks of the virus. California, Texas and Florida have recorded some of their biggest daily gains in cases and deaths this week. There’s a growing risk that a resurgence will impede efforts to reopen the economy.

Maple Invest mulls Damac Properties acquisition - Arabianbusiness

Maple Invest mulls Damac Properties acquisition - Arabianbusiness:

Hussein Sajwani's Maple Invest Co Limited is exploring the potential acquisition of Damac Properties, but insisted no formal offer has been made.

In a filing on Dubai Financial Market, Maple Invest said it is “in the process of assessing the acquisition opportunity”, but said there is currently no intent of making an offer.

“With reference to recent news, and in light of the commitment by Maple Invest Co Limited, as a representative of Mr. Hussein Sajwani and his group to transparency towards the market and the shareholders, we note that as part of our investment strategy we continuously explore investment opportunities both regionally and internationally, including current opportunities in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe and the United States of America as well as the potential acquisition of 100% of the issued and paid up share capital of Damac Properties Dubai PJSC,” read the statement on DFM.

“We confirm that we have not made any offer (whether formally or otherwise) or entered into any agreement to date in relation to the acquisition of Damac Properties Dubai PJSC. Given that we are still in the process of assessing the acquisition opportunity, this announcement shall not be construed to be an intent of making an offer ,,,”

Libyan oil company resumes exports after months of blockade

Libyan oil company resumes exports after months of blockade:

Libya’s national oil company announced Friday it has resumed crude exports, ending a months-long blockade that eastern tribes had called to protest revenue distribution in the war-torn country.

The National Oil Corporation said the resumption of exports from Libya started on a small scale, and would reach just 650,000 barrels a day by 2022 because extensive repairs, costing “billions of dinars,” are needed in the facilities following months of neglect. 


The corporation also lifted force majeure on all oil exports, promising to fulfill its existing contracts for the first time since January.

Powerful tribes loyal to east-based military commander Khalifa Hifter had reduced the country’s production of 1.2 million barrels a day to a trickle in January as a challenge to their adversaries in western Libya, the U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli. Last week, the tribes offered to end the blockade and negotiate a restart in production as part of a political settlement.

S&P warns #Dubai economy to shrink 11%, cuts property giants to junk - Reuters

S&P warns Dubai economy to shrink 11%, cuts property giants to junk - Reuters:

S&P Global warned that Dubai’s economy was set to shrink 11% this year, as it cut the credit ratings of two of the emirate’s biggest property firms to ‘junk’ status.

Dubai, the Middle East’s trade and tourism hub, has been hit hard by coronavirus-containment measures and is set for an economic contraction almost four times worse than during the global financial crisis in 2009, S&P said.

“We now expect Dubai’s real GDP will shrink by about 11% in 2020, compounding the economic slowdown that began in 2015,” S&P analysts wrote in a note dated July 9, adding that the emirate’s fiscal deficit was expected to balloon to about 4% of GDP this year.

A growth rebound of about 5% is expected next year, but real GDP growth will then slow to 2% through to 2023, which would be half of what it has averaged for the last 10 years.

Oil rises as International Energy Agency boosts demand forecast - Reuters

Oil rises as International Energy Agency boosts demand forecast - Reuters:

Oil prices climbed more than 2% on Friday after the International Energy Agency (IEA) bumped up its 2020 demand forecast but record-breaking new coronavirus cases in the United States tempered expectations for a fast recovery in fuel consumption.

Prices also found support after data showed U.S. energy firms cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating to a record low for a 10th week in a row.

Brent crude LCOc1 settled up 89 cents, or 2%, at $43.24 a barrel and U.S. oil CLc1 settled up 93 cents, or 2.4%, at $40.55 a barrel.

A strong stock market also boosted oil prices. A slate of economic data, including a record monthly payrolls addition, pointed to a revival in U.S. business activity in June.

Group of shareholders calls for investigation into Emirates REIT | Property – Gulf News

Group of shareholders calls for investigation into Emirates REIT | Property – Gulf News:

The problems at Emirates REIT are escalating after a group of shareholders approached the regulator for an investigation into the valuations done by the real estate fund on its investment properties.

They also want Dubai Financial Services Regulator to look into the fund’s operating expenses since April 2014, which was when Emirates REIT listed on Nasdaq Dubai.

 Shareholder interests would be served only through an “independent valuation” of Emirates REIT’s assets, the letter states. At the same time, there should be no interference by the fund’s manager – Equitativa - in the process to avoid bias.

“We request that such steps be taken as a matter of some urgency,” the shareholders’ note says.

Oil Heading for Weekly Drop With Virus Surge Clouding Outlook - Bloomberg

Oil Heading for Weekly Drop With Virus Surge Clouding Outlook - Bloomberg:

Oil in New York is heading for a weekly decline as surging coronavirus cases raised fresh concerns about demand, while the market is continuing to grapple with ample supply.

Futures slipped below $39 a barrel and are down 4.6% so far this week. Surging infections across major economies is leading to the tightening of restrictions to curb the outbreak, with the virus showing no signs of abating. Meanwhile, U.S. crude stockpiles are near record highs and tankers that have been storing much of the world’s oil as demand cratered are starting to offload cargoes.

Oil’s rally from its plunge below zero in April has stalled, with volatility near the lowest level since February after a tumultuous few months sparked by virus-driven demand destruction. Historic output cuts from OPEC and its allies are set to ease next month and the market will be looking for any supply response from producers as curbs are relaxed.

S&P Sees Tough Years for #Dubai Property, 11% GDP Crunch on Covid - Bloomberg

S&P Sees Tough Years for Dubai Property, 11% GDP Crunch on Covid - Bloomberg:

Dubai’s economy will likely suffer a “significant shock” this year as the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences weigh on most sectors in the Middle East’s business hub, according to S&P Global Ratings.

S&P also stripped the city’s best-known real-estate developer of its investment-grade credit rating. Gross domestic product in the emirate will shrink about 11% this year, and will only recover to last year’s nominal growth levels in 2022, S&P said in a statement Thursday.

S&P cut Emaar Properties and its subsidiary Emaar Malls from BBB-, the lowest investment grade, to BB+ and signaled that more downgrades may come. DIFC Investments Ltd. was also cut to BB+, though S&P’s outlook on its rating is stable.

“We now expect to see international demand for Dubai’s property to be subdued, and the fall in residential prices to be steeper than we had expected, lingering well into 2021,” S&P analysts including Timucin Engin wrote.

Finance shake-up with #Saudi derivatives market to launch in Q3 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Finance shake-up with Saudi derivatives market to launch in Q3 | ZAWYA MENA Edition:

Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) plans to launch a derivatives exchange in the latest move to modernize the Kingdom’s financial landscape.

An announcement about the launch of futures contracts will be made before the end of the third quarter of this year, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported, citing CMA Chairman Mohammed El-Kuwaiz.

“We are in the phase of developing the derivatives market with intensive work on the options contracts and the futures contracts” he said.

He was speaking in an online discussion panel organized by the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises (Monshaat).

Wave of North American oil and gas bankruptcies to continue at $40/bbl crude: report - Reuters

Wave of North American oil and gas bankruptcies to continue at $40/bbl crude: report - Reuters:

A wave of oil and gas bankruptcies in North America is likely to continue this year as oil prices remain depressed and a new surge of COVID-19 cases threaten to stall any recovery in fuel demand, law firm Haynes and Boone said in a report released this week.

Bankruptcies surged in the second quarter, including from major shale independents Chesapeake Energy and Whiting Petroleum, as oil prices collapsed due to the pandemic and a brief, unexpected price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia.

There were 18 producer bankruptcies in the second quarter, according to a report compiled by law firm Haynes & Boone, the highest quarterly figure since the second quarter of 2016, when there were 34 bankruptcies. In total, 23 oil producers and 18 oilfield service firms have sought protection from creditors this year.

U.S. crude oil futures are currently about $40 a barrel, a level that “is not a sufficient clearing price for many heavily leveraged shale producers,” the report said.

What's in a name? Banks count cost of loans in NMC collapse - Reuters

What's in a name? Banks count cost of loans in NMC collapse - Reuters:

As the crisis engulfing his business empire deepened, Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty met with Bank of Baroda officials in mid-March to discuss the $250 million he and his firms owed.

The loans were granted on the strength of Shetty’s reputation as a billionaire and his businesses, in particular, NMC Health, the Middle East-focused hospital group he made his fortune from, according to court filings.

Borrowing on the basis of reputation, known as “name lending”, and taking on a large exposure to one person or entity is not unusual in the Gulf region despite previous episodes going badly wrong, bankers and analysts told Reuters.

Shetty, an Abu Dhabi-based Indian entrepreneur, was feted as the Gulf’s ultimate immigrant success story and NMC Health, the United Arab Emirates’ largest private hospital group, borrowed without having to provide collateral from dozens of banks either headquartered or with bases in the region.

Mubadala set for exclusive talks with Petrobras to buy Bahia refinery - Reuters

Mubadala set for exclusive talks with Petrobras to buy Bahia refinery - Reuters:

Abu Dhabi’s investment fund Mubadala Investment Co [MUDEV.UL] will enter into exclusive talks with Petrobras to purchase Brazil’s second-largest refinery, the Brazilian state-owned oil company said in a securities filing on Thursday.

Reuters was the first to report earlier on Thursday that Mubadala was on an inside track to acquire the refinery, known as Rlam, after beating back competition from India’s Essar Group, according to three people close to the negotiations.

Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, confirmed in a filing that Mubadala had submitted the best offer and was invited to negotiate.

Mubadala will discuss the contract terms with Brazil’s Petrobras in an exclusive negotiation expected to take several weeks, the people said on Thursday, declining to be named as the talks were not public at the time.